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The King was in the royal pavilion.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was in the ministerial pavilion.
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, 101 years old and eight months out from a hip fracture, was on the pavement with the crowd — because that is where he chose to be.
The former prime minister attended the 69th National Day parade at Dataran Putrajaya on Monday morning in an electric wheelchair, positioning himself roadside among ordinary spectators rather than in any official seating area.
The appearance was livestreamed on his TikTok account, @chedetofficial, where thousands of viewers watched him wave a Jalur Gemilang, greet passersby, and take photographs with security personnel and members of the public.
Pavement, No Shade and Malaysians Noticed
Dr Mahathir was admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) in January, after fracturing his hip in a fall while exercising at his home in The Mines.
Monday marked his first attendance at a National Day celebration in a wheelchair.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil had earlier advised high-risk groups to wear N95 masks outdoors following a haze reading recorded over Putrajaya that morning.
Dr Mahathir sat in the open air without a mask.
Neither the government nor Dr Mahathir’s representatives have released a statement specifying whether an official invitation was extended for this year’s parade.
On social media, images of Dr Mahathir in a wheelchair on the pavement—without a reserved seat, shade, or official acknowledgement—drew widespread reaction, with many Malaysians saying that, regardless of political views, a former prime minister of his age and standing deserved better treatment.
He Did Not Wait for an Invitation, He Never Did
In 2025, Dr Mahathir stated publicly that he had not received an invitation to that year’s National Day parade, adding that he did not regard the absence as a barrier — any Malaysian citizen, he said at the time, held the right to attend.
He attended in 2025.
He attended again this year.
On Facebook, he let the footage speak.
Rather than a statement, he posted a compiled video of highlights from his two terms as Prime Minister — the first spanning 1981 to 2003, the second from 2018 to 2020 — a quiet reminder of the arc of a career that shaped modern Malaysia.
He also reshared a legacy clip titled “Erti Merdeka bagi Tun Dr Mahathir,” in which he frames independence not as a fixed achievement but as a living obligation — a continuous responsibility, he said, to develop and protect what the country has built.
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